ointers. That made it tough for us. We still had great looks. I want our guys to take those shots. They just didnt go down.BENCH BATTLEThe NBAs two most productive benches had big games. Led by Jordan Clarksons 13 points, the Lakers reserves outscored

Manchester United will have to do without their man of the moment for at least this week as they look to push their unbeaten streak in all competitions to nine matches Wednesday night against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.The Red Devils (6-6-3) tightened the race for fourth in the table with Sundays 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur and improved to 5-3-0 since a 2-1 loss at Turkish side Fenerbahce on Nov. 3.Henrikh Mkhitaryan continued his brilliant play with the matchs only goal in the 23rd minute, but the Armenia international was forced off the pitch on 85 minutes with an ankle injury after being clipped from behind by Danny Rose.Manager Jose Mourinho ruled the midfielder out for at least this weeks two matches and lamented the timing of the injury given a strong run of form that included his first two goals for Manchester United.Hopefully, Mkhitaryan can play at Christmas, Mourinho said at his Monday news conference. When I saw him on the stretcher, I thought it was more difficult; when I watch the tackle on TV, I was a bit scared, but no. Its a pity, because hes going to miss matches in his best period, but at least we wont lose a player for so long.United have lost just once in their last nine Premier League matches, but have six draws in that span. They are six points behind eternal rivals Manchester City for fourth, which seems a more legitimate target given Chelseas blistering form that has created a 13-point gap between the teams.Mourinho also learned Uniteds Europa League path Monday when they were paired with French side Saint-Etienne in the round of 32 in February. It will be a family reunion with United midfielder Paul Pogba set to square off against his older brother Florentin.He knows his brother better than anyone, so obviously, in terms of the individual analysis, I think he can give us the best opinion about his brother, Mourinho joked regarding the sibling showdown before adding, Its the club where Michel Platini, before he went to Italy, did amazingly well in an amazing team that was dominant in France in that period so its a historical club.And the extra curiosity of a beautiful thing which is two brothers playing each other.Mourinho will have to make at least one other change to his starting XI besides a replacement for Mkhitaryan since right back Antonio Valencia picked up his fifth yellow card of the season and will serve a one-match ban. The gap in the midfield could mean a starting spot for Wayne Rooney, who did not play Sunday and remains one goal shy of matching Sir Bobby Charltons all-time Manchester United mark of 249.Crystal Palace (4-3-8) are unbeaten in their last two matches following a six-game losing streak and scraped out a point Saturday with a rollicking 3-3 draw at Hull City. The Eagles rallied to a 2-1 lead on second-half goals by Charlie Austin and Wilfried Zaha, only to fall behind 3-2 on 78 minutes.Substitute Frazier Campbell then salvaged a point for Palace by finishing a cross from Zaha on 89 minutes. It was the second time in three matches Crystal Palace traded blows in a flurry of second-half goals, but got something out of this match after losing 5-4 at Swansea City on Nov. 26.For the neutral its probably great to watch, but not for ourselves, Campbell told Palaces official website. Wed like to keep clean sheets. Were scoring freely and if we can keep a few more clean sheets well win more games.Palace manager Alan Pardew is hoping James Tomkins will be available after he was a late omission Saturday due to a knock suffered in training. The defender has three goals, including two in his previous two matches. If Tomkins cannot go, Martin Kelly would likely get his second straight start on the backline.One-time Manchester United product Zaha has two goals and five assists in Palaces last seven matches. The Ivory Coast international has failed to score in five career matches against United, though.Palace striker Christian Benteke has three goals in nine contests versus the Red Devils, but he has never been on a winning team against United in his previous stops at Aston Villa and Liverpool.Palaces only win over Manchester United in the Premier League era was 2-1 after extra time at Old Trafford in the 2011 League Cup quarterfinals. Pardew was denied an FA Cup title last season by United, losing 2-1 after extra time as Juan Mata pulled the Red Devils level on 81 minutes and Jesse Lingard smashed home the winner in the 110th minute.Manchester United are 6-1-0 in the last seven overall meetings between the teams, getting a scoreless draw at Selhurst Park and a 2-0 home win last season. Rooney has tallied twice in nine lifetime games against Palace. Rick Sutcliffe Jersey . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Jefry Rodriguez Indians Jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. https://www.cheapindiansonline.com/2108u-tom-candiotti-jersey-indians.html . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Dwight Gooden Jersey . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Kevin Plawecki Jersey .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. LOS ANGELES -- Coach Luke Walton claimed his Los Angeles Lakers never really got into an offensive flow, even if the 125 points they dropped on the Brooklyn Nets suggested otherwise.Imagine what might happen if Waltons surprising young squad actually finds its groove.DAngelo Russell scored 32 points and Julius Randle added 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double in Los Angeles 125-118 victory Tuesday night.Timofey Mozgov had 20 points and six rebounds for the Lakers, who maintained a steady lead down the stretch of their fourth win in five games at Staples Center this season. With six wins in eight games overall, the Lakers (7-5) are two games above .500 for just the second time since April 2013.We all love to play this game together, even on nights when it isnt all clicking, said forward Tarik Black, who had 12 points and nine rebounds in just 13 minutes. We didnt care what people were saying about this team before the season started. Its about this locker room. We knew what we had.Russell hit seven 3-pointers and had eight rebounds for the Lakers, who didnt win seven games until New Years Day last season, the worst in the 16-time NBA champion franchises history.Russell had the highest-scoring individual performance by any player this season for the Lakers, whose 10-deep player rotations and balanced production have made them particularly tough to play. Russell lit up Brooklyn again after scoring a career-high 39 on the Nets last year, including eight 3-pointers that prompted his now-famous Ice in My Veins celebration of big shots.While Mozgov had his highest-scoring game for his new team, Randle added another balanced floor game in his first triple-double since March 25.He is continuing to get better and really realize what he is capable of doing, Walton said of Randle.Brook Lopez had 30 points and 10 rebounds for the Nets. Bojan Bogdanovic scored 29 points as Brooklyn rebounded solidly from a 32-point thrashing delivered by the Clippers in the same building one night earlier while Lopez sat out to rest.We bounced back from last nights tough loss, Nets coach Kennyy Atkinson said.dddddddddddd We just have to sustain it a little longer and do a little better on the defensive end.But the Lakers shot 43 free throws to the Nets 20, and Los Angeles solidly controlled the boards.Down the stretch, I dont want to comment too much on the calls, but we did foul too much and put them on the line, said Lopez, who hit four 3-pointers. That made it tough for us. We still had great looks. I want our guys to take those shots. They just didnt go down.BENCH BATTLEThe NBAs two most productive benches had big games. Led by Jordan Clarksons 13 points, the Lakers reserves outscored the Nets bench 43-40. Yogi Ferrell led the Brooklyn bench with 11 points.BLOCK PARTYLopez became the Nets franchise leader in blocked shots, passing George Johnsons 863 blocks with three against the Lakers. Johnson played for the franchise from 1977-80 and 1984-85. Lopez has blocked at least three shots in four consecutive games. He has accomplished that feat in five straight games just once, in November 2012.STEEP SCHEDULEThe Lakers just returned from a road trip that showcased their young rosters potential and limitations. They won at Sacramento and New Orleans, but were then routed by Minnesota on Sunday after their third long-distance flight in four nights.The Lakers will have to get used to learning on the court: Starting Friday, they will play 18 games in 30 days with five back-to-backs and no consecutive days off.TIP-INSNets: Former Lakers G Jeremy Lin missed his sixth straight game with a hamstring injury. ... Former Nets forward Andrei Kirilenko watched the game from courtside.Lakers: Clarkson had a career-high five steals. ... LA has beaten Brooklyn three straight times. ... The Lakers scored 120 points for the fourth time this season after managing the feat just three times in the previous two seasons combined.UP NEXTNets: The road trip ends Friday at Oklahoma City.Lakers: After their final back-to-back days off for an entire month, they host San Antonio on Friday. ' ' '